Old Black Magic
by Celestia0909
Summary: [MODERN AU] [J/L] She wants to say something more, wants to ask if he ever thinks about their time together. She wants to ask if he's ever thought about calling her, or emailing her, or even just sending her a bloody message on Facebook. She wants to tell him that she watches all of his football games on the telly, hoping for a glimpse of him.
1. Chapter 1

_That old black magic's got me in its spell_

_That old black magic that you weave so well_

_Those icy fingers_

_Up and down my spine_

_The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine_

_The same old tingle that I feel inside_

_And when that elevator starts its ride_

_Darling down and down I go, round and round I go_

_Like a leaf that's_

_caught in the tide_

_I should stay away but what can I do_

_I hear your name, and I'm aflame_

_Aflame with_

_such a burning desire_

_That only your kiss can put out the fire_

_(Ella Fitzgerald)_

-x-

**Old Black Magic**

**_Chapter One - Suki the Sook_**

-x-

She knows she probably looks like a prize idiot: but her heart is beating a staccato inside her chest and she feels like she's just finished a half marathon. She can't be completely sure if it's him, but a little voice in her head tells her that it definitely is.

His back is turned to her as he bends over and ties his dog to the bike rack. His hair is shorter, cropped closer to his head on the sides with a careless quiff atop his head. She frowns at that, and remembers lazy summer afternoons spent by the River Cam, her fingers tangled in his wild, untameable, hair. In fact, a _thousand_ memories flood her mind as she looks at him - shocked and nostalgic.

A part of her tells her to walk away and forget that she ever saw him; but as he stands up straight she knows that that never really was an option for her.

When he does turn around to face her, her heart - and perhaps even time - stands still as hazel eyes stare at her, stunned and confused. He isn't the same as the last time she'd seen him. His skin has turned more olive, his cheeks are covered in a light stubble, and his face has become more pronounced and less boyish. The years have been kind to James, and she wonders if he thinks the same of her.

"Hi."

"Hey."

They both laugh when the same greeting slip out of their mouths at the same time. She has missed his laugh, and her cheeks flush as she notices his eyes running up and down her body. Warmth spreads from her stomach and makes her toes curl as his eyes meet hers once more, a roguish grin on his face.

"I didn't know you moved back." He gestures to her as he stuffs a hand into his pocket, the other ruffling through his hair. Lily smiles at that, it was always a tell tale sign he was nervous and she revels in the knowledge that even after everything, even after all the years that have passed, _he_ was still nervous to be around _her_.

"I only moved back a few weeks ago." She doesn't know why her voice is so quiet, and she steps towards him as a cyclist rings their bell near her.

James nods, "Did you move back to Chelsea?"

"Yeah, just off Kings Road. What about you? Still at Knightsbridge?"

"Christ no, bloody hated it there. I'm at Notting Hill now, right on Portobello Road. Bloody good markets and nosh." James shoves a hand in his pocket and ruffles his hair with the other, "So, how does old Blighty compare to Boston?"

There is an obvious double meaning to his words, and Lily knows exactly what he is alluding to: after all, it was she who had announced that she would never return to London.

They'd broken up when they'd graduated from university, the allures and promises of their dreams and adult lives too tempting to turn away from: ultimately pulling them towards opposite ends of the earth. For James, it meant staying right where he was to play as a professional footballer in the Premier League. For Lily, it meant uprooting her life and saying yes to a career as a consultant in Boston.

As much as she had loved Boston, and all the friends and roots she had established in the five years she'd lived there, there was a crucial thing that could never be replicated there - her family. And when her father fell ill, her decision to move back to London was only strengthened.

"I missed this place."

"Yeah," he opens his mouth to say something else but decides against it and looks down at his feet. "How's your family? Are they still in Cokeworth? Or has your mum finally moved somewhere with better soil for her gardening?"

Her heart clenches at the way he asks about her family with such familiarity and genuine interest. She remembers weekends spent away from Cambridge to visit her family or his. Their summers spent on the Cornish coast with his family, and New Years' spent with hers in Cokeworth. Christmases spent with both the Potter and Evans clans crammed together in their little cottage just a stone's throw away from university on the banks of the River Cam.

She remembers it all and she wishes it could all go back to the way it was.

"Still in Cokeworth, though I've offered to help them move closer to London, you know how sentimental old people get."

"You're telling me, my mum was absolutely miffed when Sirius moved out."

"Sirius moved out?"

"Yeah at least out of Derbyshire, bloody moved in with me though."

"Is he still in London?"

James shakes his head, "Yeah, dunno why though, upset too many people here to stay around. He's off on a sabbatical."

"Sabbatical from what?"

"No idea, didn't even have a proper job before he left."

"He's always done mad stuff like that though."

"Yeah, eccentricity runs in his blood I suppose."

James nods at that and rolls his eyes, no doubt conjuring up images of Sirius' crazy family.

He's shifting his weight from one foot to the other and silence takes hold of them as they stare at one another. She wants to say something more, wants to ask if he ever thinks about their time together. She wants to ask if he's ever thought about calling her, or emailing her, or even just sending her a bloody message on Facebook.

She wants to tell him that she watches _all_ of his football games on the telly, hoping for a glimpse of him. Wants to tell him that actually, she pays for cable tv just so she _can _watch his games. It's pathetic, she knows, to pine over a lost love, but even now as she looks at him there's that familiar feeling of hope that spreads across her body, ensnaring her heart, and keeping a tight grasp on it. Their adventure had been cut short, but perhaps it could start again.

"So."

"So," she repeats.

"What brings you to Peter's place?" he asks.

Lily furrows her brows and glances at the cafe behind him. It's got a bright yellow facade, and a hodge podge assortment of old fruit boxes and crates at the front serving as tables and chairs. If the yellow facade wasn't a dead giveaway, the fact that the place is called 'Peter's' should've been.

"I didn't know this was Peter's place until you pointed it out actually."

"Oh." He rubs the back of his neck and smiles. Meanwhile, Lily glances at his dog and smiles as it sticks its tongue out of its mouth. "Well, do you want to come in and grab a coffee? Seeing as I helped Peter out with starting this place up, I'm entitled to free nosh and bevs until I die."

"I wouldn't want to interrupt anything if you had plans."

James shruggs and checks his watch, "I don't have to be anywhere for at least another half hour, so until then I'm all yours."

Warmth spread from Lily's chest to her neck at his words and she nodded, lest she make a fool of herself by saying anything incriminating. He leads the way towards the cafe, neither of them speaking to one another until they find a table by the window.

"This place is great, I especially love the giant painting on the wall," she teases, pointing at the giant painting of a stag, wolf, black dog, and mouse. For some reason the four of them had always been obsessed with those four animals. "Do you work here?"

"Yeah and no," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. All the while, his dog stares up from outside at the both of them, tail wagging as several passersby admire it.

"Premier League football not bringing in the bacon then?"

He rolls his eyes at her and chuckles, "I'm actually out for a couple of weeks this season, knee injury, I've been helping out here until I can go back to football."

"What happened to your knee?" Lily asks before she realises that it might be too personal. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me, only if you're comfortable."

He chuckles and waves it off, "It's alright Lily, you can ask. I uh tore my ACL, but it's alright, definitely well on the mend now." He smiles at her before waving a waiter over. "They're a bit paranoid about it honestly, not even a big deal. I suppose it's got to do with it being my second ACL injury - best not to risk it."

She nods at him, he's being way too nonchalant about this sort of injury. If it were her, she'd probably be panicking about whether she'd ever be able to do professional sports again. Which is probably why she wasn't in his position, or a professional athlete.

"Hey James, thought you were supposed to be working today?" A pretty blonde waitress who was now next to their table said, a goofy lovestruck smile on her face.

"Yeah I will be in like half-an-hour, bumped into my old friend Lily." He gestures to her and Lily smiles at the girl named Suki. She's pretty in a youthful way - her face a little rounded, gold-blonde hair in a bob, with her icy blue eyes and pink puckered lips. "Could we have a breakfast platter, a pot of Earl Grey, and a capp with one sugar?"

Lily's heart skips a beat at the realisation that he remembers how she takes her coffee. Suki nods, glances at Lily with a funny look, then saunters back to the kitchen.

"You told me you had no plans!" Lily said as she aimed a soft kick at his shins.

"Ow! I didn't lie to you, didn't I say I have a half hour free?"

"Alright fine, you're off the hook."

"Thanks Lil."

Lily allowed herself a few seconds to survey the cafe, keenly aware of James' eyes fixated on her.

"So, do you parents still spend most of the year in Derbyshire?"

"Yeah, they do. They've recently taken up clay shooting, they're wanting to upgrade to grouse and pheasant come the next shooting season." He rolls his eyes at this and leans back in his chair, draping an arm around the back of it.

He's the picture of cool, and Lily suddenly feels self-conscious in her trainers and gym gear. His burgundy gingham button-up shows off his toned arms and chest without being too fitting. He's folded the sleeves up to just below his wrist, which is adorned with an old silver watch and a woven leather bracelet.

"Is that the watch I gave you for your twenty-first birthday?" Before she can stop to think, Lily reaches out to his right wrist and touches the cool silver watch, the tips of her fingers skimming along his wrist. The second their skin touches, she brings her hand back to her side and a blush creeps onto her cheeks - that was way out of line.

She offers James an apologetic smile, but he can barely meet her eyes.

_Way to fuck it up Lily! And you were having such a lovely time!_

He clears his throat and she stops herself from grabbing her phone and leaving the cafe, "It is, yeah. It's my favourite watch actually."

Lily nods as he takes it off and hands it to her. She should say no, but instead she reaches for the vintage Rolex and caresses it with her fingertips. It has barely a scratch on it, a miracle for someone like James, who always manages to damage his belongings.

Turning it over, Lily smiles at the engraved message on the back of the watch face, her heart tugging at the memories associated with the watch.

_To the love of my life_

_Always and forever, Lily_

It was funny really, as she read the inscription to herself. She'd bought this watch, and had it engraved, just months before they'd decided to split up and move on. And yet, even now, after five years, she still means, feels, and believes the words as though she'd only just bought him the watch.

When she reaches out to give James back his watch, his face is guarded and cautious, words stuck on the tip of his tongue as he decides whether to say what he wants to say to her.

The mood between them had inevitably changed, and is laden thick with tension and anticipation. Unsaid proclamations, promises, vows, and honest thoughts and feelings hang in the air between them, and Lily wants nothing more than to air those tensions and feelings out, here and now.

A wooden platter of English breakfast is placed in between them and the moment dissolves right in front of them. There would be time for that another day, today she just wants to spend time with him without the extra baggage of their past.

"Thanks Suki," James says with a grin as she places a cup of cappuccino in front of Lily and a pot of tea in front of James.

She nods before she skulks off, shooting Lily a glare.

"This looks amazing," she says as she places the napkin on her lap and begins to tuck in. "Who's the cook?"

James is mid-chew when she asks and Lily smiles as she waits for him to answer, "Do you remember Frank Longbottom from Cambridge?" She nods, she's close friends with his wife Alice; was a bridesmaid at their wedding during their final year at uni. "He's the chef here, makes bloody good nosh."

"I thought he was a hedge fund manager?"

"Nah, well actually yeah he was. But he quit pretty soon after he and Alice moved to London."

"Really? Alice never told me that," Lily says as she frowns at a half-chopped sausage.

"It's a bit on the down low for now, you know what people at school are like." He rolls his eyes. "Bloody prats the lot of them."

Lily nodded, still a bit put out that one of her closest friends hadn't updated her on a pretty major life update.

"How are _your_ friends? Remus and Sirius I mean. Obviously Pete has this place, what're the other two up to?"

He downs a cup of tea and places his knife and fork down before he speaks.

"Remus is a teacher now, bit of a swot now. Not that he wasn't ever one-"

"But even more so now, right?" Lily interrupts.

James grins, "Yeah, exactly. Anyway yeah he's a teacher."

"How old are the kids he teaches?"

"Uh, well the ones in sixth-form, he's over at some state school in Croydon, turned down a job at Eton and Marlborough though." He rolls his eyes and feigns annoyance, but deep down Lily know that he's proud of his friends for choosing a less poncey school.

"Sounds just like something Remus would do though."

"Yeah I guess, he actually lives at my flat with Sirius and me."

"That's a bit of a commute isn't it?"

"Yeah, but teachers don't get paid much. I'd hate to think of him living somewhere dodgy and so far away from the rest of the action." James is a good bloke, always has been, but especially when it concerns Remus. "Besides, when Sirius is around, someone needs to remind us to clean up and pay the bills."

"Speaking of, what _is _Sirius up to anyway?"

At the mention of his best friend and pseudo-brother, James rolls his eyes almost _too_ dramatically.

"Who even knows!" At this he stares up at the ceiling then returns his eyes to her. "You remember he said he wanted to model? Said that if he's so good looking, someone might as well pay him for it?" She nods. "Well he did that for a while then got bored of it, said it was getting too easy, and now he's off in god knows where - probably Mustique - and doing whatever. Calling it a sabbatical apparently, the ponce."

"Mum Potter must be worried sick about the whole thing."

"Oh, she's furious at him. Promised to change her mind about his belonging in the Potter Family christmas card this year unless he comes home by her birthday."

"You know what he's like though, always going off and doing crazy stuff like running off on a sabbatical for an indeterminate period of time."

James chuckles at that then shrugs, apparently resigned to the constant stress that Sirius puts him under.

"Anyway, I want to hear about you." He glances at his watch quickly and looks back at her with panic in his eyes. "Shit, I've got five minutes left."

Lily's stomach drops and she's sure the expression on her face has too. She's been having the best morning since she'd returned to London, and she hates that it has to come to an end - in five minutes too.

"Oh, well I suppose that won't be enough to fill you in on all the gory details then."

James frowns, his face forlorn, "No, I guess not. But I do have some rapid fire questions for you before we go?"

"Yeah alright, hit me with it."

"Are you living with anyone?"

"Nope, flatmate-free!"

James smiles, "Do you have a boyfriend? Fiance? Husband? Someone you're keen on?"

"Definitely not."

This time the smile on James' face is wide and positively radiating sunshine and happiness, "Alright then, last one."

Lily checks her watch and smirks, "One minute left Potter."

"Okay, will you have dinner with me on Friday night?"

Lily is stunned for a moment, but quickly recovers, "Will it be a date?"

"Of sorts."

"Yeah, alright then. Don't pick a fancy place though."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily can see Suki walking over to their table, and it seems silly even though he's sitting opposite her, but she misses him already.

"Right, well I'll send you a message on Messenger tonight then."

"Great, well your ball and chain beckons you to your job."

"Sadly so." He winks, just as Suki stops at their table and gives James an expectant look. "Right, well it's been lovely to see you Evans."

They both get out of their chairs and James makes his way to her side of the table.

"Likewise Potter, see you Friday?"

"Yeah, Friday."

And before she can do anything she might regret, she turns away from him and walks out of the cafe. Only when she's outside does she look back at the cafe window, and is a flutter of butterflies erupt in her stomach when she sees that he's staring right back at her.


	2. Chapter 2

_TO: Lily Evans (Order of the Phoenix Org.)_

_FROM: Severus Snape (Riddle Group)_

_SUBJECT: I'm Sorry_

_SENT: Friday 13/04/2018 2:43AM_

Lily,

I know it was wrong of me to do what I did, and I'll never forgive myself for it. I don't expect you to either. But please give me a call so I can explain. There's more to it than you think.

I'm sorry.

I love you.

Always.

* * *

_TO: Severus Snape __(Riddle Group)_

_FROM: Phoenix Mail Delivery System (donotreply__) _

_SUBJECT: MAIL DELIVERY SYSTEM ERROR | RE: I'm Sorry_

_SENT: Friday 13/04/2018 2:45AM_

There was a problem delivering your message to

Please see the technical details below for more information, or try resending your message in a few minutes.


End file.
